BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University men's tennis team will compete in its 2014 home finale Saturday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs square off against the Georgia Southern Eagles in a key Southern Conference contest to be held at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
During Saturday's match, Samford (6-9, 3-3 SoCon) will honor and thank senior Elliot Barnwell for all of his hard work and dedication.
 
Barnwell has played a huge role in the Bulldogs' success over the last three seasons and will go down in Samford lore as one of the top competitors in school history. In 2012, he earned Second-Team All-SoCon honors by earning a brilliant 9-1 record in singles play.
 
Last season, Barnwell helped Samford make SoCon history as the Bulldogs won the 2013 conference tournament and earned an unprecedented No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, he finished the season with a stellar 15-9 overall record in singles play, as well as an 8-2 mark against league opponents.
 
During the 2013 campaign, Samford achieved a No. 57 team ranking, which proved to be the highest ranking in school history.
 
In the classroom, the Bulldogs were also the only team in the SoCon to earn 2013 ITA All-Academic Team honors. Barnwell has registered a 3.0 grade-point average throughout his career, and has accumulated a sterling overall singles record of 43-16 in dual-match play. During his three seasons as a Bulldog, he also compiled a 28-26 mark in doubles play and has led Samford to a 48-24 overall record.
 
Samford heads into Saturday's contest with a full head of steam after it turned in one of its gutsiest performances of the 2014 campaign Sunday as the shorthanded Bulldogs toppled the Wofford Terriers, 4-3, in a pivotal SoCon showdown held at the Samford Tennis Center.
 
Samford, which has been competing with only five healthy players for a predominant portion of the 2014 conference season, picked up its third victory in four matches, including its fourth in six contests dating back to March 13.
 
On Sunday, with the overall score of the match knotted at 3-3, Samford's Barnwell fought his way to a thrilling 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 singles triumph over Wofford's Rob Galloway on court No. 1. With his victory, Barnwell secured the Bulldogs' 4-3 team win and improved his team-best singles record on the season to 10-5.
 
Barnwell, Samford's hard-nosed senior native of Mancetter, United Kingdom, has now been victorious in four-consecutive singles matches for the Bulldogs.
 
Trey Carter has also won four straight matches in singles play. Samford's sophomore native of Birmingham, Carter breezed past the Terriers' Jackson Keith, 6-0, 6-2. With his victory, he improved to 7-8 in dual-match play this season.
 
After losing the doubles point, Samford quickly bounced back with straight-set singles victories from Carter and Liam Sullivan to even the score of the match at 2-2. Sullivan, the Bulldogs' true freshman from Richmond, Va., defeated Wofford's Parks Thompson, 6-0, 6-2, on court No. 5.
 
Samford's third win in singles play occurred on court No. 2 as Fares Kilani topped the Terriers' Haris Poric, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Kilani's momentous win kept the match alive for Barnwell as he closed out the Bulldogs' overall victory on court No. 1.
 
Georgia Southern (3-15, 2-4 SoCon), which is slated to square off against Chattanooga on Friday, enters Saturday's contest looking to rebound from a 5-2 loss to USC Upstate. Freshmen Nico DeGroof and Christian Kerrigan were responsible for earning the Eagles' two wins versus USC Upstate.
 
Georgia Southern is in the midst of a six-match losing streak and has not been victorious since March 7 when the Eagles topped Davidson, 4-3.
 
Following Saturday's Senior Day contest against Georgia Southern, the Samford University men's tennis team will next be in action Wednesday at 2 p.m. (CDT) as the Bulldogs close out their regular-season schedule versus the Chattanooga Mocs in a road contest to be held at the UTC Tennis Center in downtown Chattanooga, Tenn.